NCC raises the alarm over fake Davido airtime, data giveaway

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has alerted Nigerians to a fake Davido airtime and data giveaway announcement on social media.

Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs for NCC, made this known in a statement Tuesday in Abuja.

Adinde said that a group of scammers had launched an infomercial titled “Davido Airtime and Data Giveaway.”

He said the ad, which went viral, claimed that Davido was giving out N5,000 of free airtime and 10GB of internet data from all networks to celebrate his birthday.

He said the NCC discovered while conducting social wiretapping online that a seemingly syndicated group was lurking to scam unsuspecting members of the public.

Adinde said millions of Nigerian telecom consumers were affected as the scammers capitalized on the generosity of David Adeleke, widely known as Davido.

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“The Nigerian-American music star, songwriter and producer recently announced that he would donate N250 million to various orphanages in Nigeria.

“In the infomercial, the general public was urged to hurry up and get the freebie by clicking on the links that supposedly redirected them to the websites, where the airtime and data were credited. This is a fraud.

“The NCC wishes to advise our abundant telecom consumers not to have anything to do with the advertisement or any similar hoax.

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“The ads are what they are, social engineering scams designed to get people’s Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) and other information that scammers can later use to defraud unsuspecting telecom consumers and members of the public, ”he said.

Mr Adinde added: “MSISDN is simply the full phone number of a cell phone, plus other protocol information.

“This number is unique and identifies subscribers/owners on a GSM or other mobile networks.

“Therefore, suffice it to state that any unscrupulous person or unethical hacker can use the number and the corresponding protocol to undermine the privacy of the actual owners of the number through identity theft and other scams.

“The NCC, therefore, reiterates its previous warning to telecom consumers to be cautious and not lower their guard. If a promotion or an offer seems too good to be true, it is probably not true. “

Adinde said the commission would not stop at giving telecom consumers the information and education necessary to protect them from cybercriminals determined to use telecom platforms to perpetrate fraud.